Average household electricity prices in EU in H2 2017 were lowest in Bulgaria - Eurostat

Average household electricity prices in Bulgaria in the second half of 2017 were the lowest in the European Union, at less than 10 euro per 100 KWh, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on May 30.

In the same six months, Bulgaria had one of the highest increases in gas prices in the EU, but these prices still remained among the lowest in the bloc, according to Eurostat.

Household electricity prices in the EU) slightly decreased (-0.2 per cent) on average, between the second half of 2016 and the second half of 2017, to stand at 20.5 euro per 100 kWh.

Across the EU member states, household electricity prices in the second half of 2017 ranged from below 10 euro per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to more than 30 euro per 100 kWh in Denmark and Germany.

Household gas prices fell by 0.5 per cent on average in the EU between the second halves of 2016 and 2017 to stand at 6.3 euro per 100 kWh.

Among EU countries, household gas prices in the second half of 2017 ranged from about three euro per 100 kWh in Romania to almost nine euro per 100 kWh in Denmark and more than 11 euro per 100 kWh in Sweden.

Taxes and levies in the EU made up on average over a third (40 per cent) of the electricity price charged to households in the second half of 2017, and about a quarter (27 per cent) of the gas price.

Across the EU countries, the highest increase in household electricity prices in national currency between the second half of 2016 and the second half of 2017 was registered in Cyprus (+12.6 per cent), followed by Romania (+7.2 per cent), Malta (+7.1 per cent), Estonia (+6.5 per cent), the United Kingdom (+5.3 per cent), Bulgaria and Belgium (both +4.8 per cent) and Poland (+4.5 per cent).

In contrast, the most noticeable decreases were in Italy (-11.1 per cent), Croatia (-7.5 per cent), Slovakia (-6.2 per cent) and Greece (-6.0 per cent).

Expressed in euro, average household electricity prices in the second half of 2017 were lowest in Bulgaria (9.8 euro per 100 kWh), Lithuania (11.1 euro) and Hungary (11.3 euro) and highest in Germany (30.5 euro), Denmark (30.1 euro) and Belgium (28.8 euro). The average electricity price in the EU was 20.5 euro per 100 kWh.

When expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), an artificial common reference currency that eliminates general price level differences between countries, it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland (13.0 PPS per 100 kWh), Luxembourg (13.4) and the Netherlands (14.0), and the highest in Germany (28.8), Portugal (28.0), Belgium (26.4), Romania (26.0) and Poland (25.4).

Between the second half of 2016 and the second half of 2017, household gas prices in national currency decreased in ten EU countries.

The largest falls were recorded in Slovenia (-5.5 per cent), Germany (-5.1 per cent), and Luxembourg (-4.8 per cent).

In contrast, the highest increase was observed in Estonia (+25.9 per cent), followed by Bulgaria (20.6 per cent) and Denmark (+18.1 per cent).

Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the second half of 2017 were lowest in Romania (3.1 euro per 100 kWh), Croatia and Hungary (both 3.7 euro), Bulgaria (3.8 euro), Latvia (3.9 euro), Lithuania and Luxembourg (both four euro) and highest in Sweden (11.3 euro), followed by Denmark (8.8 euro), Spain and Italy (both 8.7 euro), the Netherlands (8.2 euro) and Portugal (eight euro). The average gas price in the EU was 6.3 euro per 100 kWh.

Adjusted for purchasing power, it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household gas price was recorded in Luxembourg (3.3 PPS per 100 kWh), ahead of the United Kingdom (4.5) and Belgium (5.1). In contrast, the highest were observed in Portugal (10.0), Spain (9.6), Italy (8.9), Sweden (8.8) and the Czech Republic (8.3).

In the second half of 2017, taxes and levies made up the largest contribution to the price of gas for households in Denmark (56 per cent of household gas price) and the Netherlands (51 per cent).

They were followed by Sweden (45 per cent) and Romania (43 per cent). At the opposite end of the scale, the smallest contributions were registered in the United Kingdom (9 per cent) and Luxembourg (10 per cent), ahead of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (all 17 per cent).

At EU level, taxes and levies accounted on average for about a quarter (27 per cent) of household gas prices in the second half of 2017, Eurostat said.... / IBNA